


The Adventure of Elain Archeron

by bitchybook_writer



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Azriel is afraid of Nesta, Elain is being smothered, F/M, Helion owns an airline, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Phantom of the Opera references, References to Depression, References to Shakespeare, The Author Regrets Nothing, as is everyone else except Amren, i don't know how he makes money, it's really cheap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-02-17 04:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13068717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchybook_writer/pseuds/bitchybook_writer
Summary: “Do you want to leave the hustle and bustle of your city life behind? Do you feel like you're being smothered by your family and friends? Well then Helion's Airways are the perfect planes for you! Book today, for a plane ticket for tomorrow, for only 60! Helion's Airways, the perfect last-minute booking planes!” The voice was synthetic, and the images of sunny beaches tacky, but this could be her escape, her chance to show that she was independent.Sick of being smothered on by her sisters, sick of being spied on by her friends, and sick of working in the same flower shop as she always has, Elain Archeron does what any sane person would do, and steals the family car to go on a trip around the world.It's lucky she's been saving.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Elain was tired of everything. Studying, working in the flowershop, and her sisters' inscesant bickering. It was really grating on her that they thought she couldn't take care of herself - she was the middle child after all, not the youngest.

However, that didn't make much difference. Elain was the 'pretty one', the 'fragile one'. It was very embarassing for her when Azriel told her he thought she was the youngest child. Just because she was a little naive, it didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself. At the moment, Nesta and Feyre were arguing over who should take her to look round the apartments and who would stay with their father; and if they should use the car or the train; and if she should be buying a house at all, because she was so fragile.

Elain brushed a strand of golden-brown hair out of her face, and sighed. To her sisters, she would always be the youngest. Nesta was always the bossy one, and Feyre was resourceful, clever and the first one of them to have a proper boyfriend. When Elain met Graysen, she thought she could be happy, but he smothered her like everyone else did. Lucien might have been able to make her really happy, but they were only friends, and he was enamoured with Vassa, a woman who ran the bird sanctuary in Velaris City.

She needed to get out of the house, but who could she call? Lucien would tell Feyre, Vassa would tell Lucien who would tell Feyre, Rhys would tell Feyre and Cassian would tell Nesta. Amren would probably just laugh, and Mor would tell Feyre and Nesta immidiately. Viviane would tell Mor, and...it was no use.

Unless...

No. She wouldn't need to ask Az for help, he was the reason she needed to prove herself to be independant and not fragile and strong. Yes, she was like Nesta and Feyre, she was strong.

A stong, independant woman. Just like Feyre and Nesta. Right?

She had just graduated from Velaris University a week before, and was in a slump. What had she been thinking, getting a degree in horticulture, for cauldron's sake? Nesta had said that it was a dead end, but Elain wanted to do something she enjoyed. She had been determined to do something for herself, and look where it had gotten her. No job, but the flower shop at the end of the road that didn't bring in much income.

"Elain? Are you there?" Feyre. Probably coming to ask her if she wanted to re-consider buying another apartment.

"Yes." Feyre walked in, her golden-brown hair flowing out behind her.

"Elain, what do you want for tea? I'm going down to the shops now." Elain shrugged.

"I don't know. I'll just have whatever you guys are having, I guess." She looked away as she saw Feyre give her a worried look.

“You've been like this ever since you and Graysen...” She trailed off as Elain looked round, angry. Well, Elain wasn't angry.

She was furious.

And as furious as a snake that had been poked with a stick too many times to often, she snapped.

“Not everything I'm upset about is what happened with Graysen, Feyre! Stop treating me like I'll break if anything bad happens!” Feyre looked taken aback, and for a moment, Elain was sorry about what she said. But then she saw the sympathetic look in her sister's eyes and the fury roared back into her chest again.

“I know this is difficult, after Tamlin I-” Elain screamed, and screamed again.

“NO! Graysen smothered me, but at least he knew when to stop. The only people acting like Tamlin here are you and Nesta!” Elain spat on the ground. “Cauldron only knows what'll happen when I leave.”

“If you-”

“When.” Feyre stormed out, muttering and cursing under her breath, as Elain fell back onto her bed.

She waited until Feyre left, and began to cry.

 

* * *

 

It was half past one in the afternoon, and Elain was bored. She had got home an hour ago, as her shift had finished early. It was Clare's birthday, and so the Beddor family who owned the shop had let her off so they could celebrate. She had finished watching one of her favourite documentory on the Renaissance Gardens, when an advert came up.

“Do you want to leave the hustle and bustle of your city life behind? Do you feel like you're being smothered by your family and friends? Well then Helion's Airways are the perfect planes for you! Book today, for a plane ticket for tomorrow, for only 60! Helion's Airways, the perfect last-minute booking planes!” The voice was synthetic, and the images of sunny beaches tacky, but this could be her escape, her chance to show that she was independant.

She ran upstairs and began to pack her suitcase. Feyre wouldn't be home for another two hours, and Nesta was working late that night, and then going on a date with Cassian, which meant she had two hours to pack the bags, get in the car, and drive to the motel nearest the airport. She began to pack, and then realised that Azriel had the van, because his car had broken down on the way to work and he stopped by to ask to borrow the van. Groaning, she flopped down on her bed, thinking that it was a bad idea after all, when the doorbell rang. Oh no, Feyre was home early! She'd see the suitcase, and demand that Elain be put on house arrest.

She opened the door, and was greeted with a pleasant surprise.

Azriel.

“Oh, hi Az! Do you want to come inside?” She asked, but he shook his head.

“No, I uh, best be getting home. Cassian's fretting over his date with Nesta, and went home four hours early just to do his hair.” Elain giggled as Azriel pulled a face.

“Nesta's spending the maximum of half an hour on her hair and her makeup. She doesn't care what Cassian looks like, as long as he has his hair down.” She whispered the last part, and Azriel's eyes widened.

“Wow.”

“I know, right?” She smiled, and he breathed out, looking at his watch.

“I better get going. See you around, Elain.” She waved at him, and sighed as he walked away.

It would always be one-sided love, he was still enamoured with Mor.


	2. The One Where Elain Gets A Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elain stays at an airport hotel.

There was a bump as Elain drove away from the house. _It was probably one of the suitcases falling over,_ she thought. Her hands gripped the wheel and she shivered with this new found freedom - it felt good to be out of her sister's way.

It was only when she arrived at the airport hotel that she discovered something was very wrong indeed. There was a hand sticking out from behind her suitcase and Elain had reason to think that Nesta had killed one of her colleagues and put the body in the van that afternoon ready to throw in a river or whatever she and Cassian did when they went out together. This was not good, the police would find the car easily and-

Wait.

The hand was twitching as if it was alive again. The hand became a very tattooed arm, and then a torso and an arm and then a face and a torso and an arm and then it became Azriel, torso and arm and hands and legs.

Shit.

She went to grab her suitcase, but the man in front of her grabbed it before she did and she fell into the back of the van along with him.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, her sense of freedom diminishing, stinging her eyes. Azriel frowned at her.

"I could say the same to you. How do you think your sisters would react if they knew you were jetting off to - where is it you're going exactly?"

"Why should I tell you?" She snapped, trying to make out she was more confident than she was actually feeling at that moment.

"Because your sisters asked me to watch you." At his words, Elain grew scarlet with mortification.

"They asked you to...babysit me?" She gasped, a feeling she recognised as dread filling her. Dread and hopelessness.

Azriel at least had the decency to look ashamed, the emotion filling his eyes as he hunched over slightly and scratched the back of his neck.

"I know it may seem that way, but-"

"I can't take this any more."

She grabbed her suitcase, threw Azriel the keys to the van and crawled out of the van.

"What am I going to tell your sisters?"

"That I'm sick of their Tamlin-Esque behaviour!" And she stomped towards the hotel, her suitcase flying behind her.

********************************************************************************************************  
Helion's Airway's Hotels were very odd. It seemed wherever she went there was yellow and gold and white, with little angels with suns as halos. The woman at the desk was also dressed oddly, in a white chiffon dress and a gold blazer.

"Welcome to Helion's Airway Hotels! We want to make sure you have the sunniest time! Can I take your name, sunshine?" Elain was a bit taken aback by the friendliness of the woman, but she was the first person who hadn't tried to control her life that day, so she returned the smile.

"Er, Elain. Elain Archeron." The woman smiled and typed something into the database, before grinning at the small girl in front of her.

"Room 66. Here's your key," The woman held up a golden card with a barcode on. "And enjoy your stay, sunshine!" Elain took the car off the woman, thanked her and turned for the lift, only to collide with a dark-skinned man with a mess of chocolate brown hair.

"I'm so sorry!" She blushed bright red as he grinned down at her.

"Don't worry sunshine, it's not every day you get bumped into by a girl as pretty as you!" If it was humanly possible, Elain blushed deeper and suddenly more apologies tumbled from her lips before, in her embarrassment, she ran from the scene into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.

She didn't notice the Illyrian walk into the hotel and she certainly didn't notice the handsome, dark-skinned man greet him as an old friend.

Beautiful was the only way to describe her hotel room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and there were little places here and there for pieces of furniture like a desk, and the tall wardrobe that, when Elain took a peak, was home to a fluffy white dressing gown and a matching towel. There was a large king-sized bed with soft cotton sheets and four fluffy pillows, as well as a golden throw that was haphazardly thrown across the bed but in a way that was elegant and classy. There was a door that led to the bathroom just right of the bed, but Elain was too busy lying front ways on the bed to look.

The room reeked of money.

How much had she paid for this room? 50? More like 500! Maybe 50,000! Mother's tits, what if she'd thought that the comma was the decimal place? Then she thought about when she'd booked it and realised that they'd probably just given her the wrong room. Yes, that was it. They'd given her a luxury double instead of a budget single and she was going to call for room service and tell them about what had happened.

It was then that she noticed a card on the side table on the right side of the bed, reading: "Welcome to Room 66, Elain!".

Mother's tits, she was in deep shit.

With a shaking hand, she picked up the card and opened it. This was it, this was the moment that her whole world was going to come crashing around her and tell her how she's wasted all her savings on a stupid hotel room.

_Dearest Elain,_

_I recognised your name when you booked your flight to Adriata. I must say, a fantastic choice, a lovely place at this time of year._

_Now, you must think you've spent a fortune on this room, but fear not, as I know your brother-in-law and he is a dear friend of mine and recently has helped me out a lot with setting up this company as a side project to my business (it's always been a dream of mine to open an airline) so I decided to pay him back for all his good work by giving you one of the better rooms in the hotel._

_Also, I know that you're not in a good place with your sisters at the moment and so they won't know you've been staying here unless you tell them._

_All my love,_

_Helion_

Well, that solved everything.

Elain got up from the bed and opened the door to the bathroom. Inside there was a large tub, a large shower and a large sink with a large mirror. Sitting on the tub and the sink were candles, with a firelighter on the side of the sink.

Well then. Helion obviously wanted her to relax - _it was almost as if someone had paid him,_ she thought, but then she remembered he was a friend of Rhys and obviously wanted her to have a good time in repayment for his efforts with helping set up the business. 

She might as well make the most of it, because it was probably going to be motels and mud-huts from tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi please don't kill me!   
> Sorry for the really, really, really, really long wait and for the short-ish chapter.   
> There's been a lot going on in the past half a year there's been some troubles going on with my friends and subsequently, I've also been having a lot of trouble with my mental health. 
> 
> Again, sorry to anyone who read this and wanted me to update, so probably no one.


End file.
